Valley food drive to combat hunger returns to mailboxes this weekend

PHOENIX — The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is returning to the Valley and across the country this weekend.

On Saturday, letter carriers will collect canned food donations during their usual mail delivery routes.

It is the largest annual single-day food drive in the country.

Here’s what to do for Stamp Out Hunger food drive

Residents should leave unopened, non-perishable donations in a bag at or near their mailbox before 8 a.m. Saturday. The letter carriers will handle the rest.

Items that are most-needed include canned fruit and vegetables, soups, meals in a can, tuna, cereal, rice, pasta and peanut butter.

“The hot summer months are almost here in Arizona. Food demand increases with children out of school, while donations dwindle with many residents escaping to cooler climates,” Jerry Brown with St. Mary’s Food Bank said in a press release.

“With so many Arizona children living in poverty, and tough economic times challenging the community further, Arizona food banks rely on Stamp Out Hunger to provide that much-needed influx of food.”

Donations for the Stamp Out Hunger food drive can also be made online.

How the national food drive started

This year marks the 32nd Annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive.

The drive began in 1976 in Phoenix, when Phoenix and Glendale letters carriers began picking up donations on their own trucks for St. Mary’s Food Bank.

The effort evolved into a national drive that has collected approximately 2 billion pounds over three decades.

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